Sorry for not writing much lately. It has been a busy summer, and I've been caught up in other things (this and this for instance).
I have been keeping up with the soaps, if not exactly regularly watching. As the World Turns has been getting better, although I'm still not entirely sold on the show just yet. They are about to at least rectify one of their biggest recent mistakes (killing off Dusty Donovan), but I'm not so sure about other stories and characters.
The Return of Mike Kasnoff: Why was Mike, who should be in his late 30's or early 40's, de-aged to his mid to late 20's? Also, what was his purpose in returning, other than making an unsuccessful attempt to pair up with Meg and provide poor, put-upon Lily with some loving care? Now, Mike is leaving town. He served little purpose, and the powers that be apparently realized that, but why bring him back in the first place?
Rick Decker: I love the character and the actor, but there was no suspense to this story. Oakdale citizens began acting strangely around the time Rick returned. Gee, wonder who was responsible? John James has always been creepily charming in this role, but the story was pretty pointless.
Alison/Chris/Aaron/Dani: This version of Chris seems almost human when he's with Alison (at least when he's not harassing her and trying to ruin her career), but Aaron has become the boring good guy in this story. It might become interesting if Aaron and Dani end up scheming to keep Chris and Alison apart. Otherwise, this story seems muddled and holds little promise. Also, I'm not sure how old Dani should be. Seems she was a teen back in the early 90's, so wouldn't she significantly older than Aaron and Alison by now? I'd think she'd be more appropriate in the Katie/Brad age group than with Alison and Aaron.
James Stenbeck: I saw a few minutes of James and Henry the other day (another late, late lunch break) and was not impressed. It is so sad that all of James' recent returns to ATWT have reduced him to a cartoon villain with little motivation other than to control people. Glad to see Henry getting some screen time, but not like this. What about Henry, Carly, Bonnie, and Vienna in a a great story? Now, that might be fun and dramatic. I also think that Bonnie/Henry/Vienna has the potential to be a great triangle, as long as Bonnie and Vienna grow up a little and just realize that they happen to both love a sweet, rascally guy like Henry. And wouldn't it be nice for Henry to have two hot women after him?
Paul and Meg: They are having another baby, but James is back in town. Does anyone think that this baby will safely make it into the world? I'm not getting ATWT's fascination with this couple. When did they become the loves of each other's lives? Guess I missed that episode.
Holden and Carly's Affair: While I found the Holden and Carly getting hot for each other hard to believe at first, and still have not quite warmed up to Noelle Beck as Lily, this story was pretty good. Holden and Carly should not have had an affair, and there were ramifications when the secret came out. It was realistic, in that sometiimes unlikely people are thrown together in ways that spark something between them. I wish that the set up had been better, and that the affair had lasted longer. Otherwise, this was a surprisingly good story.
Luke and Noah: Who? Oh yeah, the gay couple that never gets any screen time. Are they still together? What a shame that Parker and Liberty are getting more time on screen than they are. (See below).
Parker/Liberty plus Juicy Janet: I like the actors, but this story has had too much screen time. There is a touch of realism here, but that doesn't mean I want to see kids barely in their teens having sex and their parents going nuts. Brad has gone off the deep end and become unappealing. I like Janet, however, because Julie Pinson brings some humanity to the role. She's not the standard-issue bad girl. On the same day that I saw the silly scenes with James and Henry, Janet and Carly had a talk about Jack. It could have been a snarky encounter, but both Maura West and Julie Pinson toned down the animosity and brought out an honest, if slightly testy, exchange between their two characters. They didn't go for the easy, obvious ways to play the scene. Bravo!
Emily/Casey: I like Billy Magnussen as the new Casey, although I do wish he'd wear a shirt more often. This relationship seemed like a short-lived fling at first, but now it appears that Emily and Casey are going to try to make their relationship last. Dusty will return and complicate things for sure, but I hope Emily doesn't take up with him again. Dusty and Emily never quite clicked, IMO. Please ATWT, don't make up some revisionist history about Dusty and Emily having a great love.
For another take on recent ATWT stories, read this from Patrick Erwin at Marlena De Lacroix.
My three wishes for ATWT:
1. Get Henry out of the dungeon and away, away from James Stenbeck.
2. Reunite Dusty with Lily (as played by Martha Byrne).
3. Put Noah and Luke into a decent storyline, or cut your losses and have Noah leave town. Stop teasing the fans with a kiss here and there once a month.
I have been keeping up with the soaps, if not exactly regularly watching. As the World Turns has been getting better, although I'm still not entirely sold on the show just yet. They are about to at least rectify one of their biggest recent mistakes (killing off Dusty Donovan), but I'm not so sure about other stories and characters.
The Return of Mike Kasnoff: Why was Mike, who should be in his late 30's or early 40's, de-aged to his mid to late 20's? Also, what was his purpose in returning, other than making an unsuccessful attempt to pair up with Meg and provide poor, put-upon Lily with some loving care? Now, Mike is leaving town. He served little purpose, and the powers that be apparently realized that, but why bring him back in the first place?
Rick Decker: I love the character and the actor, but there was no suspense to this story. Oakdale citizens began acting strangely around the time Rick returned. Gee, wonder who was responsible? John James has always been creepily charming in this role, but the story was pretty pointless.
Alison/Chris/Aaron/Dani: This version of Chris seems almost human when he's with Alison (at least when he's not harassing her and trying to ruin her career), but Aaron has become the boring good guy in this story. It might become interesting if Aaron and Dani end up scheming to keep Chris and Alison apart. Otherwise, this story seems muddled and holds little promise. Also, I'm not sure how old Dani should be. Seems she was a teen back in the early 90's, so wouldn't she significantly older than Aaron and Alison by now? I'd think she'd be more appropriate in the Katie/Brad age group than with Alison and Aaron.
James Stenbeck: I saw a few minutes of James and Henry the other day (another late, late lunch break) and was not impressed. It is so sad that all of James' recent returns to ATWT have reduced him to a cartoon villain with little motivation other than to control people. Glad to see Henry getting some screen time, but not like this. What about Henry, Carly, Bonnie, and Vienna in a a great story? Now, that might be fun and dramatic. I also think that Bonnie/Henry/Vienna has the potential to be a great triangle, as long as Bonnie and Vienna grow up a little and just realize that they happen to both love a sweet, rascally guy like Henry. And wouldn't it be nice for Henry to have two hot women after him?
Paul and Meg: They are having another baby, but James is back in town. Does anyone think that this baby will safely make it into the world? I'm not getting ATWT's fascination with this couple. When did they become the loves of each other's lives? Guess I missed that episode.
Holden and Carly's Affair: While I found the Holden and Carly getting hot for each other hard to believe at first, and still have not quite warmed up to Noelle Beck as Lily, this story was pretty good. Holden and Carly should not have had an affair, and there were ramifications when the secret came out. It was realistic, in that sometiimes unlikely people are thrown together in ways that spark something between them. I wish that the set up had been better, and that the affair had lasted longer. Otherwise, this was a surprisingly good story.
Luke and Noah: Who? Oh yeah, the gay couple that never gets any screen time. Are they still together? What a shame that Parker and Liberty are getting more time on screen than they are. (See below).
Parker/Liberty plus Juicy Janet: I like the actors, but this story has had too much screen time. There is a touch of realism here, but that doesn't mean I want to see kids barely in their teens having sex and their parents going nuts. Brad has gone off the deep end and become unappealing. I like Janet, however, because Julie Pinson brings some humanity to the role. She's not the standard-issue bad girl. On the same day that I saw the silly scenes with James and Henry, Janet and Carly had a talk about Jack. It could have been a snarky encounter, but both Maura West and Julie Pinson toned down the animosity and brought out an honest, if slightly testy, exchange between their two characters. They didn't go for the easy, obvious ways to play the scene. Bravo!
Emily/Casey: I like Billy Magnussen as the new Casey, although I do wish he'd wear a shirt more often. This relationship seemed like a short-lived fling at first, but now it appears that Emily and Casey are going to try to make their relationship last. Dusty will return and complicate things for sure, but I hope Emily doesn't take up with him again. Dusty and Emily never quite clicked, IMO. Please ATWT, don't make up some revisionist history about Dusty and Emily having a great love.
For another take on recent ATWT stories, read this from Patrick Erwin at Marlena De Lacroix.
My three wishes for ATWT:
1. Get Henry out of the dungeon and away, away from James Stenbeck.
2. Reunite Dusty with Lily (as played by Martha Byrne).
3. Put Noah and Luke into a decent storyline, or cut your losses and have Noah leave town. Stop teasing the fans with a kiss here and there once a month.
